Container



June 20, 1967 R. G. SMITH 3,326,425

CONTAINER Filed April 27, 1965 INVENTOR Flv G. SM I TH A T TORNEVS United States Patent 3,326,425 CONTAINER Robert G. Smith, New York, N.Y., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. .27, 1965, Ser. No. 451,214 7 Claims. (Cl. 222-478) This invention relates to a novel container and a method of making the container.

In one of its aspects, this invention relates to a container having a reinforced corner over which a pouring spout will glide. In another aspect, this invention relates to a container having an upstanding recessed pouring and filling spout. In still another more specific aspect, this invention relates to a container having a reinforced corner which is truncated and reinforced with longitudinal grooves. In another aspect, this invention relates to a container having the features of the foregoing aspects as well as a separate end piece which can be of a different material from that of the main portion of the container.

For many years the containers for certain products, e.g., motor oil, were steel cans. For economic reasons, the various industries have switched to a lighter metal for their containers, such as aluminum. However, when a light metallic container such as an aluminum container was used, it was found to be easily punctured, and also the expense for the production and the materials for these containers was found to be prohibitive. Presently, foil-fiber cans are being used in the petroleum industry to package motor oil. However, these cans exhibit numerous deficiencies. Among these deficiencies are the fact that they rupture easily on impact, and they tend to leak. Therefore, a need exists for a container that is both inexpensive and durable.

Initial efforts to produce plastic containers have met with a number of problems. First some provision has to be made for filling the can. Second, the plastic cans tend to buckle when the opening spout is inserted, and on occa sion this results in the spouts puncturing the side of the container.

I have now invented a container which overcomes the problems in the prior art.

By various aspects of this invention, one or more of the following or other objects can be obtained.

An object of this invention is to provide a container with a recessed filling spout.

Another object of this invention is to provide an allplastic container.

Another object is to provide a container with a corner which is truncated and reinforced with longitudinal grooves which will efficiently guide a pouring spout.

Another object of this invention is to provide a structurally sound container.

Another object of this invention is to provide an economic means for packaging motor oil and other substances requiring a container.

Other aspects, objects, and the several advantages of this invention are apparent from a study of this disclosure, the drawing and the appended claims.

In accordance with this invention there is provided a container having a reinforced corner over which a pouring spout will glide when it is inserted in the container to remove the contents therefrom, thereby eliminating the possibility of puncturing the sides of the container with the point of the pouring spout. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention, the reinforced corner comprises a truncated corner which is reinforced with longitudinal grooves over which a pouring spout will glide.

There is also provided in accordance with this invention a container having an upstanding pouring and filling spout, said spout being recessed sufiiciently so that it will not protrude past the edge of the main body of the container, whereby the containers can be handled and stacked Without danger of breaking or tearing away the filling spout from the container. It is presently preferred that the pouring and filling spout be located on one corner of the container in a recessed portion thereof whereby the filling spout will not extend outside the dimensional envelope defined by the sides and top of the main part of the container.

Further, in accordance with this invention, there is provided a container which can have the above-described features as well as a separate end piece whereby the container can be filled with motor oil or other material, and the filled container can be closed and sealed by applying the end piece thereto. In a presently preferred embodiment, the main body portion of the container can be a semi-rigid thermoplastic material, e.g., high density polyethylene, and the separate end piece can be composed of a metallic material.

In all of the foregoing embodiments, since it is important that the containers be structurally sound, various strengthening features are provided. For instance, grooves can be provided which extend in any direction on a container whereby the container will be strengthened to withstand impact, as a well as tensile and shearing stresses. It is also contemplated that any area of a container can be reinforced by grooves providing a structurally souind article. It will be readily apparent that proper positioning of reinforcements, including the reinforced corner over which a pouring spout will glide, make it possible to provide a container having thinner walls, and thereby substantially reducing costs. Various external geometrical configurations of the container of this invention provide the desired structural rigidity and integrity. Among the configurations which have been found to be particularly applicable for the containers in accordance with this invention is that known as the rounded square. By the rounded square configuration, it is meant that the crosssectional configuration of the container is substantially square having rounded corners. Various other cross-sectional longitudinal configurations can be used, including diamond, cylindrical, frusto-conical, ellipsoidal, circular, substantially round, etc. The rounded square crosssectional configuration is the presently preferred configuration.

When a separate end piece is used, on a container as previously noted, the end piece can be so designed that it structurally cooperates with the reinforced portions of the main container to provide a structurally integrally sound container. For example, when a metallic end piece is installed on a container having a truncated reinforced corner with longitudinal grooves as previously described, the end piece can be so designed to integrally unite, or fit into the longitudinal grooves.

As previously noted, a container having a recessed pouring and filling spout is also provided in accordance with this invention. The recessed pouring and filling spout can be of any suitable configuration as long as it provides an aperture through which the container can be filled or emptied. After the container has been filled through the pouring and filling spout, the spout is then sealed by any suitable means such as heat sealing, sealing by electro magnetic radiation. etc.

The containers of the present invention can be made by blow molding a hollow closed shell. In this process a pair of extruded sheets or a parison of the plastic material is introduced between two mold sections, and. when the mold sections are brought together, air or other gaseous fluid is introduced into the parison or between the sheets to bring them into pressure engagement with the contour of the closed mold. Following the molding operation, the mold form is cooled and the mold is opened to permit removal of the hollow closed shell. Various portions of the container which are to be removed, such as an end piece, or the end of the filling spout, are then removed by cutting or severing. This extremely simple process is readily adaptable to mass production techniques, which, of course, are essential to the low cost of the product.

Alternatively, the containers of the present invention can be made by vacuum forming. A suitable method for vacuum forming the articles of the present invention is described in US. Patent 3,099,043, issued July 30, 1963, to Edward C. Held, Jr.

The containers of this invention can be made of any semi-rigid thermoplastic material, preferably a polyolefin such as high density ethylene polymers. Other examples of suitable plastic materials are homopolymers and copolymers of l-olefins of 28 carbon atoms, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene-butene-l copolymers and the like.

The invention can be more fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the container of this invention with a conventional pouring spout.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a container in accordance with this invention showing a removed separate end portion.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a container in accordance with this invention showing a recessed pouring and filling spout.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, container 1 is formed having a rounded square cross sectional configuration. Corners 2 are rounded to give a container with the necessary structural strength and rigidity. Corner 3 is reinforced so that pouring spout 4 can be inserted into the container without crushing or buckling the container. Reinforced corner 3 is truncated by plane 5. The plane 5 has located on its face, grooves 6, over which pouring spout 4 will glide when the pouring spout is inserted into the container. When the pouring spout is installed in the container, point 7 punctures recess 8 in the container, while at the same time, guide 9 of the pouring spout is brought into contact with plane 5 on the container. Additional pressure on the pouring spout 4 forces point 7 further into container 1 until retaining angle 10 of guide means 9 rests on the shoulder 11 of container 1. When the pouring spout is thus positioned in the container, the contents can be removed from the container by pivoting the container and the pouring spout to allow the contents of the container to flow through the pouring spout. The structural details of reinforced corner 3 allow pouring spout 4 to glide easily and smoothly over the corner of container 1 without crushing or buckling the container. Additionally, the corner is so designed that the point 7 of pouring spout 4 cannot puncture the walls or corner of container 1. The container can also having a filling provision as will be hereinafter described.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, there is shown container 1 having the separate end portion 22 removed. In this embodiment, the end portion is not installed until after the container is filled. The end portion can be of the same or a different material from the main body of container 1. As previously mentioned, grooves 6 extend longitudinally on the face of plane 5 which truncates corner 3. As hereinbefore mentioned, end piece 22 can be designed to form a structurally superior assembly when installed on container 1.

In FIGURE 3, container 31 is preferably an integrally formed container but can also be a container similar to that described in connection with FIGURE 2 wherein a separate end piece is provided. Element 32 is an upstanding recessed pouring and filling spout. The spout is located on corner 33 of container 31. The length of the spout and the dimensions of the recess are so controlled that the filling spout will not extend outside the dimensional envelope defined by the ends and sides of the container 31. Reinforced corner 3 is the same as that hereinbefore described.

As hereinbefore described, the containers in accordance with this invention can be made either by vacuum forming or blow molding. Additionally, an open end container such as shown in FIGURE 2 can be formed by injection molding. The following specific example relates to a container formed by blow molding.

Specific example Marlex 6009 (0.960 density, 0.9 melt index polyethylene) is blow molded into a l-quart oil container of the design shown in FIGURE 3. A 2-inch extruder with a single head is used. The conditions are:

Parison descent time sec 1% Blow pressure p.s.i 60 Cooling time sec 10 Total cycle time sec 15 Bottle weight g 35 Approximate bottle wall thickness mils 18 Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of the foregoing disclosure, the drawing, and the appended claims to the invention, the essence of which is that there has been provided a container having a reinforced corner over which a pouring spout will glide and a recessed filling spout, said container being of either a single piece integral structure, or a two piece structure. There has further been provided a method for making the foregoing containers.

I claim:

1. A container comprising a top, a bottom, and two relatively large flat converging side walls, said side walls being truncated by a surface having longitudinal reinforcing and pouring spout guiding grooves extending from the top to the bottom of said container, and means on said top adjacent said surface for receiving said pouring spout.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein said bottom comprises a separate end closure piece.

3. The container of claim 1 wherein said means comprise a recessed area penetrable by said pouring spout.

4. The container of claim 1 wherein said container is further provided with a filling spout at a point remote from said means and said surface.

5. The container of claim 4 wherein said filling spout is positioned in a recess in said top whereby said filling spout is contained entirely within the dimensional envelope defined by the sides and top of said container.

6. The container of claim 1 wherein said container is substantially square in cross section, and one corner of the square is truncated by said surface.

7. The container of claim 6 wherein said top is further provided with a filling spout at the corner opposite said surface.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,164,645 12/1915 Harrison 22289 1,264,960 5/1918 Moss 22289 2,149,060 2/1939 Mackey 222-540 2,685,316 9/1954 Krasho 2151.5 2,723,779 11/1955 Parker et al. 2l51.5 2,787,397 4/1957 Radford 2.15l.5 3,170,971 2/1965 Ninneman et al. 264-97 3,184,110 5/1965 Gombar et al. 222567 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,300,440 6/ 1962 France.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

HADD S. LANE, Examiner. 

1. A CONTAINER COMPRISING A TOP, A BOTTOM, AND TWO RELATIVELY LARGE FLAT CONVERGING SIDE WALLS, SAID SIDE WALLS BEING TRUNCATED BY A SURFACE HAVING LONGITUDINAL REINFORCING AND POURING SPOUT GUIDING GROOVES EXTENDING FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID CONTAINER, AND MEANS ON SAID TOP ADJACENT SAID SURFACE FOR RECEIVING SAID POURING SPOUT. 